Philadelphia 76ers: Sixers wait for Bynum to be pain-free'

PHILADELPHIA — Pain is a very subjective term, one that is impossible to weigh, difficult to judge. It can come and go, sharpen and dull, change depending on time and circumstance.

So, when 76ers general manager Tony DiLeo declared after 76ers practice Wednesday that center Andrew Bynum would not get back on the basketball court until his knees are “pain-free,” that needed some clarifying. After all, this is a young man who has been dealing with pain in his knees for long enough that he flew to Germany to give a nouveau treatment not yet available in the United States a try.

So to declare Bynum won’t be back until his knees grade an A-plus on the pain index... Are they ever 100 percent, really?

“We want to get him back to where he has no pain,” DiLeo said a week before the Sixers open the season against Denver. “We don’t want him to be on the court with some pain. Players have different pain thresholds, but we want to be cautious and protect Andrew and ourselves by having him completely healthy before we put him out on the court.”

The announcement backed what was obvious when the privacy screen was lifted: Bynum did not practice, as had been hoped. But that seemed a silly proposition, anyway. Monday he had another Synvisc injection, which is done to lubricate the joints that historically have given Bynum issues.

“I still feel a little cautious. We just want to avoid any kind of setback,” Bynum said.

But pain-free?“Definitely,” he said. “I’ve carried a certain amount of swelling in the past and was able to play. Last year I was able to play every game after my suspension. I’m confident I’ll be able to play once this issue is resolved.”

The issue that has kept Bynum out the past three weeks — a bone bruise he suffered during a workout — according to both the Sixers and the physicians that have monitored the 7-footer is not related to the knee problems that have given him discomfort for years. In fact, the injection of Synvisc was not related to what has caused him to miss the entire preseason.

Same knees, different issue.“It was an up-and-under move,” Bynum said, rehashing how the injury occurred. “I didn’t feel any ‘pops,’ but it just sort of buckled.”

“I think this is different than anything he’s had,” said DiLeo, although Bynum later implied he has experienced something similar to this before. “What we understand is that once this heals, it will be over. This isn’t a recurring thing.”

So the waiting game continues, and with just six days until the Halloween season-opener at the Wells Fargo Center against Andre Iguodala and the Nuggets, it gets more and more likely that Bynum will celebrate it dressed like a patron instead of in uniform.

“Every day he’s not here on the court diminishes his chances for being on the court for the opener,” DiLeo said. “We’ll just talk to Andrew every day and see how he’s feeling, and when he’s pain-free, that’s when we’ll start basketball activities.”

DiLeo admitted that the Sixers might have a different approach to this if it were, say, March or April and the playoffs were looming. Time is on their side, so patience is as well.

“His pain isn’t as much as it was before,” he said. “It is improving and healing. He is a big investment for our team, so we want to be cautious and make sure especially at the beginning of the season that he heals.

“We’re just going to do what’s in the best interest of Andrew and the team.”

Bynum held out hope he’d make a dramatic Hallow’s Eve appearance — even though it’s tough to imagine him playing more than a few token minutes after all this down time.

“It’s a possibility,” Bynum said. “But really it’s up to the team and the doctors at this point.”

“It’s more psychological. It stinks, because I want to be able to play. It’s tough to come in and stay motivated. All my teammates were patting me on the back and wanting me to get back, so that helps. Everything is about the big picture.”

Actually, the big picture for the Sixers involves some other missing bodies as well. Backup center Kwame Brown, swingman Evan Turner and rookie point guard Maalik Wayns all missed practice, while sniper Dorrell Wright was limited to non-contact activities. None of them is any worse than questionable for opening night, but Doug Collins certainly would rather go into Game No. 1 of a season with fewer health questions.

“I think one of the things this training camp has been about is preparing this team for opening night,” Collins said. “The preparation we have is based on whether Andrew is going to be able to come back or not.”

“What I want to do is keep my focus on six more days of getting this team ready. I’m sure Andrew is incredibly disappointed. I’m sure he wants to be out there as much as anybody.”